Star Trek News Bullets

• Star Trek XI's Simon Pegg (Scotty) was interviewed recently by Entertainment Weekly, where he discussed Spaced, the British comedy series about two hard-up twentysomethings, Tim and Daisy. Spaced releases as a DVD set today. Spaced began, explained Pegg, when "Jess [Hynes] and I were approached by the Paramount Comedy Channel. They wanted to write a show for us. We'd just been on a show called 'Asylum' and we’d worked very well together and someone said 'Oh, you know perhaps we can make a vehicle for you.' "

• Wil Wheaton, best-known to Star Trek fans as Wesley Crusher, discussed writing, publishing, technology and the behavior of internet fans as reported by ComicMix. The recipient of some unpleasant Internet comments, Wheaton explained what he felt was going on with those inclined to post such messages. "It's like 'internet tough guy syndrome.' I think it comes down to a sense of impotency and a sense of dissatisfaction and unhappiness in real life. That's how it manifests itself

  "I used to really take these types of things personally and it really bothered me. These days, I either just completely ignore it or I've become comfortable telling people to, well...There comes a point when people will not listen to reason. They have so much invested in what they've gotten themselves worked up about that they are incapable of hearing anything which might lead them out of that darkness."

• Patrick Stewart, who is currently appearing in Hamlet as the Ghost and as Claudius, can be seen in a series of photos at WhatsOnStage as can Doctor Who's David Tennant, who is playing the title role of Hamlet.

• Leonard Nimoy will be appearing on the LateNet with Ray Ellin internet show on Wednesday, July 23, along with Olympic ice-skating star Oksana Baiul as reported by DailyComedy.com.

• Omaha, Nebraska Krypton Comic store manager Kevin Hayner thinks he knows why Star Trek continues to stand out from the many comics available in his store as reported by Action3news.com. "The interpersonal relationships. I think it dealt a lot with racial issues, but put it in a context where everyone wasn't scared of it because it was aliens and not different colors of skin." It didn't hurt to have James T. Kirk as the Captain. "He's the big hero and got to romance all the women and [was] the leader."

• MTV posted its "Most Anticipated Movies Of Summer 2009" and Star Trek XI made the list. "They've been to the farthest reaches of the galaxy, and, if rumors are to be believed, they'll soon journey to the city on the edge of forever. But ask any 'Star Trek' fan where they'd most like to see the intrepid crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise boldly go next, and they'll all tell you the same thing: into renewed relevance. At least 20 years since their last mainstream hit, 'Trek' regulars Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Chekov , Scotty and Sulu get reimagined by J.J. Abrams."

• A Star Trek fan, Arny Kapshitzer has designed the "Warp Watch" as reported by Gizmodo which "looks like something straight out of the Star Trek series, uncannily reminiscent of the starship Enterprise. Located eccentrically towards the right of the dial, a cut-away metal piece reveals the jumping hours and minutes on two superimposed discs. The seconds are displayed at 3 o'clock on a cylinder linked directly to the crown. 9 o'clock forms the tail of the “spaceship”. Made of the same metal, it bears the name of the watch and is punctuated by a totally off-centre dot, where the brand logo is engraved."

• Star Trek XI's J.J. Abrams spoke about updating Star Trek as reported at IGN.com. "Well, I think that...what's so funny is that these devices that everyone's holding [referring to recording devices], in the show would have been insane fantasy, you know? And now everyone's got them. We all have the iPhone that does more than the communicator. I feel like there's a certain thing that you can't really hold onto, which is the kind of, there's a kind of kitschy quality that must go if it's going to be something you believe is real." Abrams went on to insist that, "...our Star Trek is not parody. And so the idea of maintaining character relationships, the dynamic between the characters… I never saw how Kirk and Spock became so connected and that's what this movie does. It does it with the entire family of the Enterprise."

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